Last summer, Second Harvest Food Bank served more than 338,000 meals to over 6,000 children in the New Orleans area, with the need only growing this year.

Kate McDonald, education supervisor for Second Harvest, said food banks were originally a source for emergency food. Now, people are coming on more regular basis. She said the organization needs to be more aggressive in helping improve lives.

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"We're starting to look at a more systematic way to end hunger," McDonald said. "A lot of that has to do with education."

McDonald said the organization does this with three key programs: grocery store classes, harvesting health and cooking matters.

"We actually go through the store and talk about how to read labels, how to compare prices -- kind of bringing people to where they're going to be purchasing that food and show them different tips and tricks on how to afford health food," she said about the grocery store classes.

McDonald said the harvesting health program involves her staff create recipes that would include food items people are getting at the Second Harvest Food Bank.

"So people know that they can do more than just take out the canned corn and heat it up," McDonald said. "You can make corn fitter, you can make corn salsa, you cam make a salad with it. So know there are options for people, I find that empowering too because you're not just coming in and getting free food."

McDonald said her favorite program is cooking matters. Through the class, she has worked with close to 1,400 people in its two-and-a-half year existence.

"It's a six-week class for all our clients," she said. "We have curriculum for families and parents and kids and teens. We talk about how you can afford healthy foods on a budget and we cook together and eat together."

And with nearly 20 percent of Louisiana's children facing hunger and nutrition issues, McDonald said the organization makes it a point to target youth.

"We know that these kids might be either making snacks or dinner for themselves at home and for their brothers and their sisters, so we're making sure that these kids know how to prepare simple meals that are healthy," she said.

The main goal of Second Harvest is, of course, feeding people. But McDonald said education is an important facet that pairs with their main goal.